She Hates Us :(

[Panda and Me]

I know we have only had our guinea pig for less than a week, but she seems to react very negatively to as little as our walking by her cage.

We adopted Gypsy from the Animal Humane Society. The little I know about her, she is approximately 2 months old. She was brought into the AHS 3 days before we brought her home with both her parents and 2 sibling/litter mates. We have kept her environment as quiet and calm as possible, we handle her once daily and have backed off from petting to just having her sit in my lap while we read aloud or talk quietly. At AHS, when we held her, she settled down quickly and seemed okay with us petting her, of course that was with Mom, Dad and siblings nearby. She sometimes will squeak a little at us, mostly when being held, but when I put her back in her cage she makes a funny noise. It isn't a growl or a purr but it definitely seems to be an indignant, unhappy noise. The first time I heard it is when I changed her bedding for the first time. She seemed upset that her area had been rearranged, even if it was relocating her waste. The only thing rearranged was relocating her waste and the towel and fleece blanket were also changed out for new/clean ones. Then we did not hear the noise again for a few days. When I backed off to just holding her in a blanket in my lap last night she did not settle down at all. She used to like to sit in the corner of my arm, burrowed into my elbow. When I put her back in her cage last night she made the angry noise as she scurried off into her hide. Then this morning as I set out her much loved zuchinni she made the sound again.

Much less interaction and we won't be interacting with her at all.

There is a chance she could be pregnant from being housed with dad until a week ago.

 

[Wiebke]

I know we have only had our guinea pig for less than a week, but she seems to react very negatively to as little as our walking by her cage.

We adopted Gypsy from the Animal Humane Society. The little I know about her, she is approximately 2 months old. She was brought into the AHS 3 days before we brought her home with both her parents and 2 sibling/litter mates. We have kept her environment as quiet and calm as possible, we handle her once daily and have backed off from petting to just having her sit in my lap while we read aloud or talk quietly. At AHS, when we held her, she settled down quickly and seemed okay with us petting her, of course that was with Mom, Dad and siblings nearby. She sometimes will squeak a little at us, mostly when being held, but when I put her back in her cage she makes a funny noise. It isn't a growl or a purr but it definitely seems to be an indignant, unhappy noise. The first time I heard it is when I changed her bedding for the first time. She seemed upset that her area had been rearranged, even if it was relocating her waste. The only thing rearranged was relocating her waste and the towel and fleece blanket were also changed out for new/clean ones. Then we did not hear the noise again for a few days. When I backed off to just holding her in a blanket in my lap last night she did not settle down at all. She used to like to sit in the corner of my arm, burrowed into my elbow. When I put her back in her cage last night she made the angry noise as she scurried off into her hide. Then this morning as I set out her much loved zuchinni she made the sound again.

Much less interaction and we won't be interacting with her at all.

There is a chance she could be pregnant from being housed with dad until a week ago.

Hi and welcome!

Great that you have adopted! But it is tough for your little girl to be on her own in new surroundings without any any piggy company. She is going in effect through bereavement right now. Guinea pig are group animals, so as she's never been alone, she will feel it even harder. She is also obviously not happy about either being handled or taken back. It is however a very encouraging sign that she talking to you, so she is not frightened out of her wits and cyou can work with her in building up a relationship.
You may find the tips in our new owners information bundle helpful in making friends with her. They are a bit too many to list them all in this post at full length.
" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

Please open an ongoing support thread in our pregnancy section. We have got detailed guides for new owners at the top of the section that should answer most of your questions and help you to preprare as best as possible as well as minimise any birthing risks you can influence, but you are welcome to ask any questions or worries in your support thread at any time as you go along. As you have registered, you will be able to see our pregnancy section on the home page. As sows come into season for the first from 4-6 weeks of age, it is highly likely that she is pregnant, but it may take some weeks until you may see signs of it. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/pregnancy-baby-care-and-sexing-no-breeding.11/

We have got members from all over the world and find it therefore very helpful if you please added your country, state/provinvce or UK county to your details, so we can take your climate, brands, vet and rescue access into account straight away when tailoring any advice.
Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!

 

[VickiA]

Hello. Please dont think that your piggie hates you. She has had a bad start in life and needs time to adjust to her surroundings.
Please take the time to read the very helpful threads about settling in new piggies and piggy behaviour. Here is the link to the starter pack." Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

Please could you also add your location to your profile as with Members all over the world it phelps us to give appropriate information to you.

 

[Swissgreys]

She doesn't hate you - she just doesn't love you yet, but she will

We have 3 new pigs, and each of them is quite different in how friendly and chatty they are.
Plus they have each other there as support.
Don't give up on your girl. She just needs a lot of time and patience right now.
Since they arrived home we make sure we only feed our pigs their favorite fresh foods right before and after we handle them.
This means that they are slowly learning that being handled is nice, plus it means they get something super special to munch too.

 

[artcasper]

Our girls can act really different when it quiet to when there is lots going on..... If it's just me on the sofa sat quietly and I move my leg, they bolt ! Room can be full with me, other half, both kids, TV and chatter and they come out and see what's happening.... I am sure all will settle down soon x

 

[Freela]

She doesn't hate you, she is just in very new surroundings and isn't sure. She is used to being part of a group and probably feels vulnerable alone. In addition, the 'cuddling into your arm' stage of events is probably more of a fear reaction than feeling comfortable (guinea pigs tend to either freeze or flee when frightened) so the fact that she is now voicing herself more instead of freezing like a statue is (ironically) progress. It can take guinea pigs weeks or even months to build up confidence, so view this as part of a process that is going to pay off down the line.

If it's any consolation, the two guinea pigs I have now were plainly terrified of us when we got them and are now little food-mooching lap pets, so hang in there!

 

[Tigermoth]

We've had our piggies for a couple of months now and it has taken a lot of effort to get to the point where they will come out of their hidey when they think we might be about to bribe them with food but as soon as they realise we don't then they turn their backs and hide again! It's slow and frustrating to be honest, but they are programmed to expect to be eaten at any moment by something bigger than them. They are nature's handy bitesized snack and they know it! I've been keeping a little diary on here (in intro, "waiting for the arrival of my piggies") so that I can look back and see how far they have come. Definitely being trusted enough to show that they are disgruntled with the situation, rather than freezing stock still really is progress though!